Pretty Pretty Pretty

All that’s pretty and fun and shiny

 

MAC’s brush finder tool July 4, 2009

Filed under: make-up — Amy @ 6:00 pm

MAC’s US website has this brush finder tool that lets you browse through all their brushes to find what’s right for you. Personally I’m a bit intimidated by the huge MAC range of brushes. But this tool lets me figure out where to start.

brushfind

 
 

Roller Derby girls July 3, 2009

Filed under: people — Amy @ 7:13 pm

You may recall our post about Ginger Tonix from the Richter City Rollers. Well I finally got to see these roller derby girls in person at the Richter City Rollers grading day this week. These girls are awesome. With race names like Tuff Bikkies, Lux Vengence, Sneaky Darkie, Suffer Jet and so on. In fact, roller derby race names have to be registered, and here’s the database of registered names.

Uniforms are typically stripey socks, fishnets, frilly knickers and leopard skin. Plus ‘tude, lots of ‘tude. Most of the kiwi girls get their roller derby gear from sincityskates.com.

The grading seemed to go well – lots of enthusiastic ladies showing their super skate skills. While there was too many press-ups for my liking, the skating drills, falling drills, and blocking drills looked so much fun.

 Helping handIf you wanna join the Richter City Rollers in Welly team check them out here, else here’s some other links to NZ leagues:

Auckland – Pirate City Rollers www.piratecityrollers.com
Christchurch – Dead End Derby www.deadendderby.com
Taranaki – Taranaki Roller Corps www.myspace.com/newplymouthrollerderby
Northland – Northland Nightmares www.bebo.com/NorthlandN
Hamilton – HELLmilton Roller Derby http://www.myspace.com/hellmilton666

Or if you just wanna find out more about the sport check out Fieldtheory on publicaddress.net.

PS I thought of a roller derby name for myself – Sockin’ Awe. What’s yours?

photos copyright to Michael Roseingrave

 
 

Free Antipodes Sample July 2, 2009

Filed under: Uncategorized, skin care — Amy @ 12:23 pm

antipodes

 

Hardy’s health supply stores are giving away samples of Antipodes organic skincare.

To receive your free samples, email: info@hardys.co.nz with “Antipodes Giveaway” in the subject line, and provide your full name and postal address.

I’m not sure what the free samples are of yet. I’ll let you know when I get mine.

 
 

Clarins gift with purchase at Kirk’s July 1, 2009

Filed under: make-up — Amy @ 8:34 pm

Kirkcaldies & Stains in Wellington have a great Clarins gift at the mo. Choose from 2 different gift packs with 2 purchases.

Clarins Wonder Volume mascara, which is part of this gift, came top in a Consumer Magazine test.

And if you’re wondering what other Clarins products are worth a try, search on totalbeauty.com. Clarins Water Comfort One-step Cleanser is rated 9.5 / 10. which is pretty good.

Clarins-27x5 Gift 1 includes
Cleansing Milk with Alpine Herbs 50ml
Toning Lotion with Camomile 50ml
Extra Firming Day Cream 15ml
Gentle Eye Make-up Remover 30ml
Mens Active Face Wash 30ml
Miniature Wonder Volume Mascara
Miniature Colour Quench Lip Balm in Lychee
Miniture par Amour Toujours EDT
(As pictured)
Gift 2 includes
Cleansing Milk with Gentian 50ml
Toning Lotion with Iris 50ml
Multi Active Day Cream 15ml
Gentle Eye Make-up Remover 30ml
Hand and Nail Treatment Cream 30ml
Miniature Wonder Volume Mascara
Miniature Gloss appeal in Sorbet
Miniature par Amour Toujours EDT
 
 

Just the thing for winter…

Filed under: clothes — Amy @ 6:08 pm

yellowShuella presents the shoe-umbrella. RRP: $US49.95 + free international shipping. 4 colours to choose from.

This quote from flossie.com:

More often than not, a gorgeous pair of heels or boots were not designed for walking in puddles, or running through a downpour. That’s why American, Rebecca Miller invented the Shuella. A plastic over-bootie, that does up with Velcro and keeps your shoes (including high heels) safe from splashes. Available in bright statement colours (buttercup yellow, pink, green) or the more subtle black, the Shuella eliminates the need for a  second pair of more practical shoes, and folds up into your carry bag and slips into your bag when you reach your destination.

You can win a pair of your very own by leaving a comment at the bottom of flossies’ post.

 
 

Free stuff for free June 30, 2009

Filed under: trade — Amy @ 5:45 pm

frenchie

 

I haven’t had any takers for the free Sally Hansen French Manicure set. I’ll even throw in some little white strips for the nail tips I found. It’s free! Just leave a comment and I’ll be in touch.

 
 

Marie Claire beauty awards June 29, 2009

Filed under: body products, make-up, reviews, skin care — Amy @ 6:57 pm

prix-dexcellence_logoThe July 09 Marie Claire (Australia) announces the winners of the Prix d’Excellence de la Beauté Awards. Ooh la la.

The winners are judged by a panel of experts and the marie claire beauty team. But then there’s the readers’ choice awards too, so there’s a lot of winning products.

Here are the experts’ picks:

Giorgio Armani Face Fabric, Clarins Addition Concentré Minceur, Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes, Lancôme L’Absolu Rouge, Guerlain Terracotta Sunless Range and Estée Lauder Perfectionist [CP+]. The three prestigious Australian Prix d’Excellence Awards went to Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultimate Youth Creme, Revlon’s Beyond Natural Collection and the Prix d’Excellence Ethic award went to Kiehl’s “Aloe Vera” Biodegradable Liquid Body Cleanser.

I reviewed Estee Lauder Perfectionist a while ago, but I haven’t tried any of the other products.

The Readers’ Choice awards are a little more interesting because they have separate categories for ’splurge’ and ’steal’:

  • The best fragrance was Chanel No.5 (personally, I prefer Madamoiselle);
  • best splurge hair product was GHD IV styler (amen), best steal was Garnier Fructis Melt-In Mask;
  • best splurge make-up was Diorshow Iconic High-def Lash Curler mascara, best steal Maybelline Define a Lash;
  • best splurge body product was Clarins Satin Smooth lotion, best steal was Palmer’s Cocoa Butter.

And finally, here are my personal picks in these categories:

 
 

My favourite outfit: Miss Anna Jane June 27, 2009

Filed under: clothes, favourite outfit, people — johubris @ 2:43 pm

We like you and want to know what you’re wearing. Send us a pic and a description please!

Here’s me standing on a chair posing in my living room. I am wearing a vintage dress gifted to me in Brisbane by a wonderful friend named Michelle Younghusband. I love it so much because I don’t own anything that fits me quite as well. It’s cotton, and lined with one underskirt for a bit of flamenco feeling. I’m wearing it with Amie McCarron’s Parisienne black beaded choker necklace, and my favourite pair of brown leather boots. These were a major splurge for me, but I have never regretted the purchase – they are flat for walking the hills of Wellington (and climbing the odd tree), made in Italy, and brought from a fancypants boot shop in New Farm, Brisbane (my old posh hood). Red velvet curtains complete with broken curtain rail, low lit lamps and half-full wine glass complete the look.

 
 

Incoco specials

Filed under: grooming, sale — Amy @ 2:36 pm

nails-004

Remember Incoco – the amazing dry nail polish product that I reviewed a wee while ago? Well they have some specials on at the mo – 3 packs for $25.90 (that’s a ‘buy 2 get 1 free’ kinda deal).

I recommend them for a special occasion, travel or a treat.

 
 

Review: ‘Natural’ lip-liner June 25, 2009

Filed under: make-up — Amy @ 8:39 pm

lips-001

I don’t wear lipstick much because it just makes me feel a bit self-conscious. But I do like a bit of natural or neutral colour with a glob of gloss. The best thing for me is to line my lips with a neutral liner and then blend the liner over all of my lips, and then gloss on top. The colour lasts a bit longer than just gloss, and it looks a bit prettier too.

It can be difficult finding a good liner though. Here I’ve pictured a Clinique liner and a Mary Kay liner. They are a very similar colour but a very different products. The Clinique is quite hard (like you have to press really hard to get colour) and doesn’t apply smoothly. And it’s not wood, it’s plastic. You sharpen it the same way as a wood pencil, but it’s a pain because the remaining plastic edge can be sharp.

Meanwhile, the Mary Kay liner is much softer and easier to apply and blend. And it’s in a retractable pen so no need to sharpen. That’s good for me because I take it with me every day and apply on the bus, and I don’t need to worry about sharpening.